Learning By Design

Learning by design

Students collaborate on product design

Two large manufacturers of sporting goods may find themselves using design ideas
from UW-Stout art and design students.

Industrial design students within the department of art and design have been involved
in a number of projects in conjunction with well-known national companies. Two such
collaborative projects have been with Rollerblade Inc., of Minnetonka, Minn., and
PUMA USA, of Brockton, Mass.

Projects like these are one reason so many students are drawn to the art and design
department at UW-Stout. According to Paul DeLong, art program director, there are
more than 600 students in the program, and there's a waiting list for some concentrations.

"It is one of the largest undergraduate art programs in the state," DeLong said.
"And it's the only industrial design program in the whole UW System." DeLong said
that the only other such program is at a private art school.

The project with Rollerblade was initiated by UW-Stout alumnus Todd Olsen, senior
industrial designer at the company. The endeavor was supported by a small grant,
and the company provided product samples and informational support. Olsen, a 1983
graduate from New Ulm, Minn., advised and directed students and critiqued their
work.

Olsen said UW-Stout students gave a diverse, fresh look to Rollerblade products.
"They did an excellent job," he said. "Our management was impressed."

Benjamin Pratt, instructor of the industrial design class, said the project was
good for students in that "they saw ways in which the skills they are learning can
be used professionally. And it was great to work with a company so open to creativity
and new ideas."

This was the second time UW-Stout students worked with PUMA. Last year students
worked on ideas for footwear. This year, juniors in Robert Rabinovitz's industrial
design class designed a new sport or activity and the gear that would go with it,
from the clothing to the arena.

Rabinovitz said students were innovative with their ideas for both sports and equipment.
Designs included a virtual reality shoe, shoes for walking the tracks of roller
coasters and power walking shoes which incorporate an elastic band between the hands
and shoes.

Todd Ellis, a UW-Stout graduate from Green Bay, is employed as a designer at PUMA
and engineered this collaborative effort. "We're always looking for new ideas,"
he said, "and we wanted input from the Midwest. Stout students generated a lot of
new ideas."

"Todd (Ellis) advocated for the selection of his alma mater due to its up
and coming industrial design program which is improving every year," said David
Miller, director of research and design at PUMA.

"The final presentations surpassed all expectations," Miller said. "As director
of research and design at PUMA USA, I can assure you that we will definitely try
to do this project next year or the following year."

Puma must, in fact, have been impressed. The company recruited another UW-Stout
student, David Stender, a design student and athlete, after seeing his work in the
program.